Louis Arnaud, imprisoned in Iran since September 2022, has been released, President Emmanuel Macron announced late Wednesday, calling on Tehran to release “without delay” three other Frenchmen still held in the country.

“Louis Arnaud is free. He will return tomorrow (today) to France, after a very long imprisonment in Iran,” the head of state announced via X. “Thank you to our friends in Oman and everyone who worked for this happy ending,” he added. Mr. Macron.

“Tonight, I’m also thinking of Cécile, Jacques and Olivier. I call on Iran to release them without delay,” he added.

“Louis Arnaud left Evin prison early Wednesday morning. He was seen by a doctor, who determined that he was able to travel by air,” a diplomatic source told AFP. “He is currently in the Sultanate of Oman and will board a flight to Paris,” the same source added, before concluding: “Happy ending for our compatriot.”

The 30-year-old began in July 2022 to go around the world and reached Iran, “a country he had dreamed of visiting for a long time, because of the richness of its history and the hospitality of its people”, explained his mother Sylvi Arno before since a few months.

After news of her child’s release, Ms Arnaud told AFP last night that she felt “tremendous joy”, but that it “will not be complete until Cécile, Jacques and Olivier” return, the remaining three Frenchmen who remain in Iranian prisons.

Louis Arnaud was arrested in September 2022, along with other Europeans, accused of taking part in the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who died at the hands of the morality police.

His fellow travelers were released, but Louis Arnaud remained in prison before being sentenced in November to serve five years in prison for propaganda and attacking the security of the Iranian state.

His conviction was described as “unacceptable” by French diplomacy.

“The accusations against him (…) are completely unfounded,” his mother continued to lament.

The other three Frenchmen in Iran’s dungeons are teacher Cécile Collet and her partner Jacques Paris, a couple arrested in May 2022, and Olivier, whose family does not want his surname to be released.

“Obviously we will continue our efforts for the remaining three Frenchmen who remain imprisoned in Iran,” said the AFP source in Center d’Orsay.